1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a breathing apparatus structure with a two-stage reduced-pressure spare air bottle head, and more particularly to a two-stage spare air bottle head structure having an air bottle head switch, a high pressure reducing valve, and a low-pressure valve, which can reduce the pressure of an high-pressure air in an air bottle when entering the low-pressure valve, so as to avoid the air leakage of the high-pressure air in the air bottle when not being used, thereby prolonging the service life of elastic elements of the low-pressure valve and achieving a desirable performance in usage.
2. Related Art
Generally, a conventional diver or life jacket (e.g., a life jacket of an aircraft pilot) is equipped with an air bottle spared for emergency use, which includes a spare air bottle, an air bottle head mounted at an outlet end of the air bottle and used for adjusting an air pressure, and an inhalation mouthpiece disposed in a manner of extending outwards from an regulator valve of the air bottle head, thereby being formed into a breather structure for providing an air at a suitable pressure to a diver or drowning person for emergency use.
As for conventional breathing apparatus structures with spare air bottle heads, for example, in a conventional structure (as shown in FIGS. 1-3) disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,996,982, an air bottle head 60 mounted at an outlet end on the top of an air bottle 10 includes a body 601 and a housing 602. The body 601 is provided with a connector 61, a barometer 62, a safety bolt 63, a supply valve 64, a plug 65, and a regulator valve 66 thereon. Furthermore, a breathing chamber 603 in communication with an air outlet 661 of the regulator valve 66 is formed between an upper end of the body 601 and the housing 602. The housing 602 is provided thereon with a diaphragm 604 in contact with a pressing rod 662 of the regulator valve 66, and is further provided with an inhalation mouthpiece 70 in communication with the breathing chamber 603 on a sidewall thereof. In addition, the barometer 62, the safety bolt 63, and the supply valve 64 are respectively communicated with an air passage 611 of the connector 61 at a lower end of the body 601, communicated with a connecting hole of the plug 65 on one side via a connecting hole within the supply valve 64 (as shown in FIG. 3), and then communicated with a connecting hole of the regulator valve 66 via an air passage 651 within the connecting hole of the plug 65. The above conventional structure is characterized in that: a safety lock 641 is used to ensure that a valve 642 in the supply valve 64 is pressed against a closed position under an elastic force of a spring 643, so as to prevent the high-pressure air from flowing out of the air bottle 10 along an air passage 644; when the safety lock 641 is released to release the elastic force of the spring 643 in the supply valve 64, the valve 642 of the supply valve 64 is opened to allow the high-pressure air in the air bottle 10 to be delivered to the regulator valve 66 via the plug 65 and the passage 651 thereof. Afterwards, when a user inhales by using the inhalation mouthpiece 70 connected to an outer end of the breathing chamber 603 of the air bottle head, the diaphragm 604 on the housing 602 is used to press against the pressing rod 662 of the regulator valve 66 to open the regulator valve 66, thus enabling the air in the air bottle 10 to be delivered to the inhalation mouthpiece 70 for breathing use.
The structure disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,996,982 has the following disadvantages. 1. The valve 642 in the supply valve 64 is pressed under the forces of the safety lock 641 and the spring 643, so as to prevent the high-pressure air from flowing out of the air bottle 10. However, when the high-pressure air at a pressure of about 3000 psi applies a pressure to the spring 643 continuously for a long time, an elastic fatigue easily occurs to the spring 643, and the high-pressure air may also directly enter the regulator valve 66 and cause an elastic fatigue of a spring 663 in the regulator valve 66, thereby resulting in element damage, air leakage, as well as reduction of the service life of the spare air bottle. 2. When the supply valve 64 is opened to allow the high-pressure air in the air bottle to flow into the regulator valve 66, it may also result in an elastic fatigue of the spring 663 in the regulator valve 66, and the service life and throttling effect of the regulator valve 66 are also influenced. 3. When the air in the air bottle 10 is insufficient or has been used up, the air bottle 10 cannot be reused since an air cannot be supplemented into the air bottle 10, thereby resulting in a waste of resources.
The above structure also has other disadvantages. Referring to FIG. 1, the inhalation mouthpiece 70 is perpendicularly protruded from a sidewall surface of the air bottle head 60. Thus, in practice, when a user keeps the inhalation mouthpiece 70 in mouth for use, the body of the air bottle 10 is too close to the breast of the user and thus affects the user in lowering the head, which fails to meet the ergonomic requirements and hinders the use. Referring to FIG. 2, the safety bolt 63 is disposed within the breathing chamber 603 of the air bottle head 60. Thus, when the temperature or air pressure of the air bottle exceeds a threshold value and an adjustment needs to be performed to avoid bursting of the air bottle, the diaphragm 604 on the housing 602 needs to be dissembled in order to perform the adjustment, thereby causing great inconvenience and even safety risks if the pressure cannot be adjusted in real time.
In consideration of the disadvantages of the above conventional breathing apparatus structure with a spare air bottle head in terms of structure and use, the conventional structure can be further improved and needs to be further improved. Through profound studies and based on years of personal experiences in manufacturing and designing in this field, the inventor eventually works out a novel breathing apparatus structure with a two-stage reduced-pressure spare air bottle head.